Mention the word “Stuffed” to me in reference to food and my eyes will almost always light up with anticipation. I can see you nodding your head in agreement with me. And why wouldn’t you?

While food in itself is delightful, food stuffed with morefood is usually double the pleasure. It only makes sense when you stop to think about it. Seriously, why eat a lonely graham cracker when you can have one with chocolate and marshmallow in the middle? Peppers and mushrooms are perfectly capable of standing on their own two feet, but drop in a little cheese and crumbled meat if you really want to see them dance. And of course there’s pasta shells. They’re just begging to be stuffed with any and all form of culinary delight.

My husband is turning the big 4-0 this year and I’m only a couple years behind. His inevitable journey over the hill has me thinking about all the fun side effects that come along with aging. Things like your pants suddenly shrinking when you’re not looking. I’ve been told it’s due to a slowing metabolism but I believe it has more to do with those pesky little pant trolls that sneak into your house while you’re sleeping and hem them down a size smaller for twigs and giggles. Ok, a stretch I know, but dang if I’m going to give up dessert simply because of my age. So the trolls it is.
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Yes, your eyes are not fooling you. I’ve placed another salad up on the blog today. After receiving multiple comments about snow days and jealousy over grill worthy temps, I determined that it might be in my best interest to throw up a spring salad that doesn’t require an outdoor flame. After all, even us Southern girls experience cold temps every now and then (as witnessed by one such nameless food blogger who was over at her vegetable garden last night covering all her planted seedlings for the “not supposed to happen in April” freeze that blanketed the city this morning). Shh… you didn’t hear that from me.

You honestly don’t realize how much you depend on the internet until it’s no longer there. I spent the majority of my day on the phone yesterday doing battle with technical support for one issue after another. You think it’s fixed and then blammo. Out it goes again. I finished up the marathon with my third friendly voice telling me that I’d have to wait until the next afternoon for a certified technician to come out to my house and assess the damage. Bugger.

So what’s an internet addicted blogger to do? I cleaned the bathrooms, swept and mopped the kitchen, made German chocolate cake cookies (A.mazing little specimens), finished the second Hunger Games novel and read my way through the February issue of Southern Living; all before the boys made their way home from school.

Football lovers rejoice! The Super Bowl is almost here. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the big game. On top of the fact that its arrival ushers out the long, cold month of January (it’s only 31 days, but I swear it feels twice that long), I also find that it provides me with an excuse to create some seriously satiating appetizers.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a bean dip for some time now. While there’s always freedom to experiment with flavors, a couple of requirements were necessary for this endeavor straight out of the gate:

It had to be hot because, let’s be honest, hot dip rocks.

It had to be cheesy because, well, I myself am a bit cheesy (this girl does love her Wisconsin dairy).

Last, but most definitely not least, it needed to be crudité worthy, therefore satisfying my veggie intake needs for the day.

Well, get ready, because I achieved all three goals and scored a two-point conversion in the process with the bonus addition of protein-charged beans to the mix. The final result is flavorful football fare that will leave you and your guests filled and content.

Kick off your Super Bowl party right by cooking up a couple slices of fresh-cut bacon. When the bacon is crisp and hot, remove it from the pan and chop. Reserving a teaspoon or two of the grease, slide your heat dial to medium and drop in a bit of diced onion and fresh garlic.

Sear it up for a minute or two and then toss in a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.

Swirl around the pan for a couple moments allowing them the opportunity to heat up. Dial the heat back down to medium low and stir in a bit of sour cream (light is ok), mayo, and one of the two chopped bacon slices. Transfer the hot mixture to a food processor and spin until smooth.

Finally, drop in a few handfuls of pepper jack cheese, a pinch or two of Parmesan and a few choice flavor enhancers including oregano, Worcestershire and hot pepper (to taste). Add salt if needed and sprinkle the remaining chopped bacon and a little green onion over the top.

Even if your team doesn’t make it to the big game this year, you can be assured that between the clever commercials and the over-abundance of pigskin-dedicated fare, you’ll finish the evening with a satiated appetite and, if you’re lucky, a coveted Super Bowl win.

I just sent my middle child, Alex, off to Kindergarten for the first day today. You think if you’d done it once before it would be a piece of cake the second time, right? I sure did. I managed to get him up and corral both him and his brother through the morning time routine without too much issue (aside from waking Alex and getting him out of bed; a herculean task to be sure). Scott came back to the house for the official send-off and we snapped the first day obligatory pictures. We even made it to the bus stop without incident and Alex, a bit reluctant and apprehensive, boarded with his brother and promptly drove away.